Bangladesh
All Private Guns Must Be Held by Police During Bangladesh Elections
Daily Star (Dhaka)
12 Nov 2008
The home ministry yesterday asked all to submit their licensed firearms to respective police stations across the country between November 20 and December 3. The small firearms will be in government custody until January 5, 2009, in order to keep the ninth parliamentary elections and upazila elections, scheduled for December 18 and December 28, violence free. The decision was made during a meeting of the advisory committee on law and order held at the home ministry with Home Adviser MA Matin in the chair. No new firearms licences would be issued to any individual until the elections are over and the sale of all types of firearms and ammunition... ( gunpolicy.org )
New Zealand
Court Hears of Soldier's 'Thrill' at Stealing New Zealand Army Pistol
Manawatu Standard
12 Nov 2008
The man on trial for receiving and possessing a stolen army pistol was found guilty on both counts in the Palmerston North District Court yesterday. The jury took four hours to reach the verdict and Michael Bob Fiti, 28, was remanded in custody until sentencing on February 2. The six-day hearing was a retrial, after the last jury could not reach verdicts. He pleaded guilty to possession of a shotgun found during a November 2006 police and military search to retrieve the 9mm pistol. He was sentenced to 10 months in jail. Last week, crown witness and ex- army gunner Levi Haye told the jury of the thrill he got when he stole the... ( gunpolicy.org )
Finland
Defence Minister, 57,000 Others Sign Petition to Ban Guns in Finland
Agence France Presse
12 Nov 2008
HELSINKI -- A petition signed by more than 57,000 people demanding a ban on handguns was presented yesterday to the Finnish government, just weeks after the second school massacre in a year sent shockwaves through the Nordic country. The petition, calling for a total ban on private ownership of guns with barrels shorter than 600mm (23.6 inches), was handed over to Interior Minister Anne Holmlund. Finnish Defence Minister Elisabeth Rehn was among those who signed the petition. "The discourse in our society needs this kind of activity," Holmlund said in an address to parliament after accepting the petition. The government planned to present... ( gunpolicy.org )
Timor-Leste
Guns in Civilian Hands a Major Concern for Development in Timor-Leste
IRIN (UN News)
12 Nov 2008
DILI -- Poor management of government weapon stockpiles and an unknown number of small arms in the hands of civilians were potential triggers for violence in the fledgling nation, according to a new report. Since the 1959 Viqueque rebellion, when anti-imperialist rebels stole Portuguese weapons and launched an unsuccessful coup, civilians have used weapons from government stores to wreak havoc in the tiny nation, according to the Small Arms Survey report, Dealing with the kilat [gun]: an historical overview of small arms availability and control in Timor-Leste. In recent years, the number of weapons in civilian hands has increased as members of government,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
NRA 'Promotes Irrational Fears,' US Dealers Fuel 'Insane' Fear of Obama
Albany Times-Union (New York), Opinion
12 Nov 2008
Otherwise sensible people seem to completely lose their marbles when it comes to the loaded question of handgun ownership, and what rules ought to apply. I'm not sure why that is. The latest example of mass paranoia at work for no discernable reason is a rush to gun shops across the country to buy sidearms. The rationale, or vague impetus, is that with the election of Barack Obama as president, we're heading for the confiscation of our guns, for sure. The National Rifle Association is promoting this sort of irrationality, and I've even heard my good friend Brian Oleson, who owns a number of gun stores in the region, say roughly the same thing. Well,... ( gunpolicy.org )
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